From Your Associate Executive for Racial Justice
“…por sus frutos los conoceréis” (Mateo/Matthew 7:20)
“In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends.” Martin Luther King, Jr.
“We will have to repent in this generation not merely for the vitriolic words and actions of the bad people but for the appalling silence of the good people.” Martin Luther King, Jr.
“If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor. If an elephant has its foot on the tail of a mouse, and you say that you are neutral, the mouse will not appreciate your neutrality.” Desmond Tutu
“And they’ll know we are Christians by our love, by our love; yes they’ll know we are Christians by our Love.” We Are One in the Spirit #300 Glory to God Hymnal
“Southern trees bear a strange fruit. Blood on the leaves and blood at the root. Black bodies swinging in the Southern breeze. Strange fruit hanging from the poplar trees.” Billie Holiday
Kohen Wiley, one year old, was killed by police in Mississippi when responding to alleged shoplifting of diapers at a Walmart.
Nolan Wells, 18 years old, disappeared and died after last being seen and spending time with his “friends”—all White—at a remote island.
Kyle Bassinga, 21 years old, Juliana Umba Nzita, 16 years old, To’Nea Nicole Miller, 27 years old, Justice Kai James, 21 years old, Jerard “Jay” Jackson, 28 years old, Demartravion “Trey” Reed, 21 years old, Torrance, “Troy” Medley, 39 years old, Tasia Fortune, 29 years old all found hanged and ruled suicide (except in Tasia Fortune’s case) by authorities.
Jane Doe sexually assaulted and raped by 7 men at Cornell University and assisted by the silence of 50 additional men on a group chat.
Christine Blasey Ford sexually assaulted by Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh.
Anita Hill sexually harassed by Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas.
Bill Clinton engaged in an affair with Monica Lewinsky, a 22 year old intern.
Countless women and children abused, raped, and assaulted by Jeffrey Epstein and other high-profile celebrities at Epstein Island.
The list is a small sample of the countless stories where justice did not prevail. This list does not include the countless documented stories of violence, rape, assault during wars, colonization, slavery, and the attempt to erase indigenous people from this land. If by any chance, upon reading the beginning of this reflection, you feel exhausted and tired of hearing the same thing ever so often, I invite you to pause and breathe. Then think about the thousands of humans, particularly women and children, who carry this burden daily and are triggered every time a new story breaks in the public sphere, where they have to relive the violence they survived. Doing so while their abusers, rapists, and perpetrators are venerated by society, holding positions of power and trust. For those of you who are triggered, I invite you to breathe and ground yourself with whatever tool is helpful to you in this moment. We are all one in the Spirit.
The news about what took place at Cornell University has stirred in many of us in this society the stench of the reality of our society that injustice and violence against women is the soup du jour. Moreover, to many people in this society, recent news has reemphasized the idea that violence against women is almost like a rite of passage or a step to a promising career. What we’ve seen over the years, decades, and centuries is that violence against women is acceptable, and men who commit these atrocities face zero consequences. They get to continue their lives, get promoted, and even hold public office, even the presidency of the United States.
Strange fruits the world is tasting indeed. Christianity has nurtured and cultivated a culture where superiority, power, and grandiosity are the characteristics of a good king and Christian. This mindset has been imprinted at the expense of the lives of women and children who historically have been the most vulnerable in society. What can we do? Let’s embody “love thy neighbor” (Matthew 22:39) “Rejoice with those who rejoice and weep with those who weep” (Romans 12:15), and practice “they will know we are Christian by our love.” Talk about this. Have difficult conversations. Engage in the work of deconstruction and decolonization. Deconstruction of destructive internalized beliefs and decolonization of Christianity. Read books, listen to those who look different than you. Call misogyny out. Stop the jokes about women and children. Speak out when violence against women and children are normalized or downplayed. Listen to the women and children. Preach about this from pulpits. Hold bible study. Track factual statistics of violence committed against women and children. Get informed. Seek out community. Create and prepare sacred spaces in your household, sanctuaries, and environments for every member of creation to feel safe, whole, and seen.
My siblings in Christ, we can do this. We must do this work. This is our call and vocation. Love one another. Let us respond with generosity to all the blessings that God showers us with daily. I believe in God and the gospel tenets. We, the Church, Christianity, are called to bring beauty, justice, love, humility, mercy, courage, respect, and compassion to and into the world. Do you see God in your neighbor? Are we awake yet?! Are we ready to trust God enough to believe that “I am creating a new thing; can you perceive it” (Isaiah 43:19)? Community is needed to build the capacity for hope and love. We need to work towards building the capacity to abolish the policies, laws, and culture that systematically dehumanized and demonized parts of God’s creation and others not.
Let us pray:
Merciful, imaginative, and wonderful Creator, thank you for your presence. Thank you for the gifts of the Spirit that you offer so freely. Give us the courage to build the capacity needed to do your work, welcome the stranger, be kind to the foreigner, be humble and seek your divine wisdom, practice courage to question what needs to be questioned, dissect what keeps us from wholeness, and dismantle everything that stands in the way of embodying shalom. You are God. We praise. We glorify you. May you guide us to bring about your strength, compassion, love, and respect to those you called us to love, heal, support, and redeem. In your mercy, receive our prayers, God. In the name of the one who modeled for us how to build the capacity for wholesome faith and authentic community, Jesus Christ, Amen.
Peace and blessings!
Ruth-Aimée (Root-Eh-méh)
Ruth-Aimée Belonni-Rosario
Associate Executive for Racial Justice
248-752-3697 (cell)
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